Why, with so many burdensome regulations and compliance requirements that drive up costs in the mobile data sector, does the narrative remain that some “duopoly” between Vodacom and MTN is the source of South Africa’s relatively high data prices?
Graphs show that this decline in market share by the two big data providers coincides with an increase for Telkom.
Thus, while South Africa might appear to have an oligopoly in the sector, we must appreciate that it is entrenched as an unintended (or perhaps intended, but detrimental) consequence of government has brought about such an economic malaise in general and harmed the data industry in particular.
Government must clean up its own act before we consider asking it to “fix” the mobile data industry.
Government must clean up its own act before we consider asking it to ‘fix’ the mobile data industry
It makes no sense to entrust government with rolling out the unattainable goal of free data for all.
